Month: August 2017

A few months fly by quickly… And suddenly you realize you have not posted in a while… Hopefully your summer was filled with lots of fun, sun and good books!

We developed a new ritual: Finja “reads” a book to me every night after we are done with our story time. At first, I was astonished how good she memorized books we didn’t read for a while. Sometimes she was able to reconstruct stories word for word! One of her favorites right now: “Leah’s mustache party” by Nadia Mike, a book we reviewed in July 2016. Can you guess why?

We also discovered the biggest book we ever read: The “The What on Earth? Sports Timeline Posterbook”. The unassuming cover of the fold-out-book hides a 2-meter-long laminated timeline with more than 1,000 pictures of more than 100 different sports from the early Olympics to horseback riding, climbing and world records. The big format might not be handy for reading in bed, but it’s perfect to discover different sports and their history on a rainy afternoon!

Recommended for children 7 to 14, the posterbook packs lots of knowledge for adults, too. Our preschooler immediately begun discovering the different sports and started her own “search, find and explain” game: “Mom, where is the person without a head. And why is he bleeding?” Luckily, we spend some time with explaining the different disciplines of horseback riding after that…

Which child doesn’t like the zoo? Finja loves visiting her favorite animals – and she always knows which to visit first. The jaguar always is number one – and then come the goats, the bungees or the lemurs, depending on her mood. The tree kangaroo always has to be part of our tour, too. I’m always in awe of the teachers who are handling a whole group of children without one of them wandering of!

„That’s not a Hippopotamus“ is fun to read and easy to love.

„That’s not a Hippopotamus“ by Juliette MacIver is a story about a school class visiting a wildlife park. “Don’s Safari” declares to have “every creature in the land, roaming wild, safe and free”. Looking at the list of animals the children soon realize that one animal is missing: The Hippopotamus. Don is sure the wild park is home to a hippo – and so the search begins. The hippo is really good at staying hidden among the other animals, and so the resolution to “fetch him in no time at all” end in lots of confusion. The self-declared hippo-hunters catch a giraffe, an elephant and even a skunk, but the hippopotamus stays just out of reach – always in the picture, newer spotted by the class. Only the shy Liam seems to be able to uncover the mammal’s disguise…

„That’s not a Hippopotamus“ is fun to read and easy to love. A book for rainy days, snowy days, sunny days and whenever you or your child need some excitement in your life. The humor of the story is irresistible, the rhyme makes reading aloud extremely entertaining and Finja loved to scream “That’s NOT a hippopotamus!” after every mix-up. The illustrations by Sarah Davis are colorful and show real emotions. You can easily spot the anxious child in the diverse class, the more outgoing one, the loud one, the quiet one and the child that always is more careful than is classmates… Last but not least: Who doesn’t love a “search and find”-theme? Reading „That’s not a Hippopotamus“ can become a game: Who can spot the hippo first – you or your child? I have to be honest: Finja is way better at this than I am! 😉

„That’s not a Hippopotamus“ is a fun picture book for kids in pre- and elementary-school. Our daughter wanted to read it again and again and again and again (…) and will take it to preschool tomorrow. That’s definitely a ribbon of excellence from this little reader!

The book was published by “Gecko Press”, an independent publisher from New Zeeland. According to Gecko Press, the publishers aims to encourage children to love to read, because “one good book can spark a lifetime of reading”. Books like „That’s not a Hippopotamus“ definitely make it easy for kids to find their love for literature!